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I had written a letter to Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey in regards to increased funding for HIV care and services. She was asked to use her influence in assuring a comprehensive array of services were fully funded for all persons living with HIV/AIDS. I had the opportunity to drop off a handful of signed copies at her local office, her staff was delighted.

On the way to her local office, I dropped of 100 unsigned copies at the clinic where I receive my care. That was 50 copies for the staff to review and sign on their own time and 50 in the waiting room for other client/patients. My thinking was that they are about to lose $1 million dollars per year in Ryan White CARE Act funding and they should also take part in support for this important law.

This is against the rules and every copy was destroyed along with a stack of flyers for my web site www.Commission-on-AIDS.org. The one flyer on the bulletin board is still posted but has been covered up with other materials. It is not the million dollar loss of funding but, the potential loss of quality healthcare that is of my concern. Mostly because I am 100% dependent upon this organization for quality care.

I have received a few PM's from members of these forums, all in support of my decision to take a break from the Planning Counsil and all related committees. This is the primary reason I am so pissed. They will complement me on my ability to coin a phrase, to get such a letter out on such short notice, then fail to support the volunteer work I have done. Some people would get mad, I got even... The Santa Rosa Press Democrat (a New York Times company) ran this letter in every region (5 counties). I may have lost a hundred pieces of paper but, I got over 200,000 copies out in general circulation. I am feeling a little better today than I have in several days.

I also informed the Executive committee that when we complete the Funding Allocation Working Group in September, I am taking a long break from the commission and all of it's committees. Have the best dayMichael

The Clinic is funder with government money, primarily RWCA funds with a county contribution. That includes payroll of employees. The employees may participate in lobbying when they are on their own time and many of them do, but not while on paid hours. I am constantly being told how happy they are that I can say the things I do because they can not.

When I leave a huge pile of letters lying about, I am pushing the envelope and we all know it. By getting the letter in the local paper, they can participate by sending those letters after they clock out. WE can not use government money to lobby the government.

I get the same issues when I try and promote my web site www.Commission-on-AIDS.org. The Informations Systems manager has responded to my request to bulk mail the link to people who subscribe to Healh and Wellness news. However since the county web site is owned and operated with government funds, they can not. At COA and sub-committee meetings, I can announce a news item regarding Commission-on-AIDS.org and that item gets entered into the minutes, the minutes get posted on the official site.

I was interviewed on television during a meeting last week, am frequently interviewed in the local newspapers and can take those moments to plug the site. But my requests for postage to send letters to every medical facility in California may not be granted because once again, we can not use government money to lobby the government. Have the best dayMichael

The clinic staff can write on their own time but I can not get to them on their own time, I can only pass the letters on company time.

Thank you for writing to me regarding reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act. I appreciate hearing from you on this important subject and welcome the opportunity to respond.

I view AIDS as a major public health emergency, and I, for one, will not rest until we can truly say that AIDS is a disease of the past. When I was the mayor of San Francisco, I had firsthand experience with the tragedy of AIDS and its devastating impact. That is why, in 1981, I began the first AIDS program in the nation and made sure that all AIDS budget requests were fully funded during my tenure as mayor.

I would like to assure you that I support reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE Act, which is critical to prolonging and improving the lives of many people living with HIV/AIDS. I appreciate knowing your opposition to the Administration's proposal of mandating that 75% of Ryan White go to "core medical services." Please know that I will keep your thoughts in mind as the reauthorization of the Ryan White Care Act moves forward in the Senate in the 109th Congress.

Again, thank you for writing. I value your correspondence and hope that you will keep in touch on issues of importance to you. Should you have any further questions or comments, please feel free to call my Washington, D.C. staff at (202) 224-3841.

Thank you for writing to me about the so-called Marriage Protection Amendment, a proposed constitutional amendment which would require that marriage in the United States consist only of the union between a man and a woman. I appreciate you expressing your thoughts to me.

I have continually opposed this amendment, as well as other federal attempts to regulate marriage. In my view, enacting such a measure would overstep the role of Congress by interfering with the States= constitutional authority to legislate in the area of family law. Policies that regulate families and marriage have always been, and I believe should continue to be, a State right and responsibility.

On June 7, 2006, the Senate voted on a procedural motion regarding the Marriage Protection Amendment. I voted against the motion which would have led to the Senate's consideration of the amendment and I have attached a copy of the statement that I gave on the Senate floor which further explains my views on this amendment.

Again, thank you for writing. If you should have any further comments or questions, please do not hesitate to contact my Washington, DC staff at (202) 224-3841.

I recently joined a bipartisan effort in the Senate urging President Bush to support an increase in the 2007 international affairs budget. Our letter pointed out that this funding should be viewed as an investment in a safer, more stable world.

The international affairs budget contains a very diverse set of programs designed to combat the proliferation of nuclear weapons, provide for worldwide maternal and child health programs, encourage economic development, respond to global HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, fight poverty and illiteracy, and reduce environmental degradation.

Programs like the ones listed above can make our nation and the world a safer and more secure place. The international affairs budget also includes the emergency food aid program which provides relief for those suffering from famine and disaster, as well as programs to increase international understanding though such organizations as the Peace Corps and through people-to-people educational and cultural exchanges.

I am proud to stand with a broad bipartisan group of Senators in the effort to increase funding for the international affairs budget. With wise expenditures and effective programs, we can face the global challenges of today and those to come in the future.

Thank you for contacting me with your thoughts on the tax-exempt status of the American Family Association (AFA). I appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with me.

Your concern for the tax-exempt status of an organization like the AFA is understandable. As you know, religious groups can lose their tax-exempt status if they engage in political speech. It is important that we balance a groups right to free speech with the consideration afforded to them under our tax laws. Be assured that I will continue to monitor this situation and fight to make sure that groups are acting within the bounds of the law.

Again, it's good to hear from you. The people of Marin and Sonoma County are the most important voices I listen to as I serve in Congress.

You have lived here 15 years longer than I have and have been constantly and consistently politically active. The one time we met in person was the first time the Sonoma County Commission on AIDS wanted to put me on public display. As you noticed during our conversation, Mr. Allen Nishikawa chose that moment to interupt and have me speak about my web site www.Commission-on-AIDS.org. That was the only time the COA publicly admitted having any knowledge of that site. I was also being kept busy so I would not have the opportunity to go outside for the TV cameras. They sent 2 other commissioners because they could count on them to say the prepared statements and me being new was unpredictable.

I told the Executive Committee last week that I was an Activist, first, last and always. I can work a room and the press better than any of them or all of them combined. That is what I do. That night, Lois Pearlman offered to print anything I write. Gary Carnivale asks me for stories. Katy Hillenmeyer called me three times on the Local HIV funds at risk article and has asked I send everything directly to her. It appears her editor has not been getting my news releases to her.

Having been delegated as an AIDS patient which can be taken off the shelf for public display at will, was a mistake for the COA and the committees. We have to keep writing because there are over 1 milion people living with HIV/AIDS in this country. With over 700 living in our county (as known cases) and an additional 1300-1400 who are not yet in care. It is up to us otherwise everyone will lose. Have the best dayMichael

I was comparing the Epidemiology reports of Sonoma County with the State of Iowa the other day. I was surprised at my findings. The most recent data I could find from Iowa was FY 2004 and the current Epi report of Sonoma County is FY 2005.

Sonoma County- 1800- 2100 known casesIowa- 1565 known cases with an expected 64 new cases annually

Of the two Senate Committees, Senate Committee on Budget and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and the House Ways and Means Committee and Sub-committee on Health.

California has two votes in the House of Representatives and Zero votes in the Senate. One of those votes is Congressman William M. Thomas, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, the most influential committee of them all and he will side with President Bush on every issue. He is retiring at the end of this term.

Iowa has two votes in the Senate and 1 vote in the House. RWCA Funding amounts for Iowa is $3,701,995.00 (Title II & III), Sonoma County will get $1,028,000.00 (Title I) $233,538.00 (Title II) for an equal amount of client/patients (FY 2007).

When the new RWCA legislation reaches the House and Senate floor, if the bill is passed as written Sonoma County will lose their Title I funding because the funding levels are based on the living AIDS cases of the past 5 years and the majority of California AIDS patients have lived over 5 years. Personally, I have been a California AIDS patient 10 years (tomorrow) and I do not fit into that equation. Sacramento and Santa Clara Counties are also expected to lose their Title I funding for keeping their patients living. Have the best dayMichael

I must be confused because there was a good lookin hot, blond stud at the Guerneville Library on November 3, 2005 in attendance at the CARE Act Community Forum. He was using your name "Terry" and represented himself as a member of the AIDSmeds Forums. Silly me, have the best dayMichael